Chevrolet/Geo Metro

Comments

I finally stopped for gas the first mileage check is 31mpg. This has exceeded my expectations. It got cold this weekend and I was not able to make it to the junk yard to look for a mirror. I also have taken my Metro on a tow trip to KY. I have to keep reminding myself the little guy is still back there. Lucky for me I have a back-up monitor and can check it out every so often. These are great cars for towing behind a RV. I luv it more and more!!!! What a steal! More later.... Towman....

Your comment about the company that buys Metros and rips the engine and gear box to replace with an electric motor intrigues me. I wonder if some after market company will think of marketing this concept. Instead of replacing the engine with a gas engine the owner could opt for and electric... Since I only drive mine on short trips I might consider that as an option if available when/if it ever comes to that. Maybe then I could get 100 miles per KiloWatt....HA.....

I'm glad to find such a lively group concerned with the Ego Metro. I started looking for an economical car because I drive 50 miles per day with the commute to my job. I'm a high school science teacher and just can't afford the gas prices for the pick-up I was using for the commute. A friend told me about a Ego Metro he had seen at a garage sale so I went and looked at it. I had been researching the Ego Metro by looking at reviews on the Car Guys site and asking around. It seems most people really love their Metro's with very few having problems. I bought my 1992 4-door hatch back with the 3 cylinder 1 liter engine for 800 dollars. It needed some work and have ended up putting an additional 1000$ in for repairs. It is driving great and in warmer weather it gets 43 mpg. It originally had factory air but the clutch on the compressor had gone bad so was disconnected before I got it. I also noticed that it had the compressor changed once before. For about $150 I could get a rebuild compressor and have it installed. It does seem that the air conditioned is a common problem and I'm wondering if I should just put up with humid Missouri summers and save on my gas mileage by not getting the work done. Any opinions?

Welcome to the club, bluestreak. I'm sure you will enjoy your Metro. I have a 1993 2-door with the 1.0 litre/5-speed setup. Mine did not come equipped with A/C and there are times during our humid NJ summers when I would gladly kill to have it. If it's at all practical, I would recommend repairing yours. You will suffer a mild performance and mileage penalty but you will be more comfy. I have installed a pop-up sunroof (about $150) in my car, which helps with ventilation. The sunroof also makes the cabin feel more airy.

You will find that your Metro, if cared for properly, will reward you with years of faithful service. Mine has been completely buried in snowdrifts, driven over dirt roads, driven through eight inches of standing water (I don't advise this) and carried many heavy loads of passengers and outdoor gear. All it ever asked for was a little gas, regular oil changes and a clean-up every so often. It has never failed to start at the first turn of the key. The Metro is, IMO, the modern incarnation of the original VW Beetle. Simple, tough, economical and reliable.

Although you can't buy a new Metro from Chevrolet you can still get a Swifts from Suzuki. I just returned from a trip to Arizona and the Suzuki dealer in Kingman Arizona had a good supply of Swifts, I counted 7. Prices were great $8995.00 & $9995.00. Just thought I'd let everyone know because this is your last chance to get one because 2001 is it. But I'll continue to happily drive my 1994 4dr, which now has 126k and continues to be a great car. No problems yet. I have put 37k on this car in a year (122 mile a day commute). I have put a set of plugs, distributor cap & rotor, PCV, and front/rear brake pads/shoes and changed the oil. That's it. Cjacetta, you are right, the Metro IS the VW Beetle of the 90's, simple, ultra reliable, affordable, effecient. IMO I have never owned a better car, even those I have bought new. Metronians® unite!!!

I'm at a loss as to what some of the abbreviations are. What does IMO stand for?

By the way, I have a weekend job that has a big garage with hoses and drains that's heated in the winter. (The garage that's heated, not the hoses and drains.) My coworkers think I'm obsessive because I've washed that Geo almost every weekend this winter, regardless of the weather. It's body is in such great shape that I want to maintain its great looks as long as I can.

Speaking of the Beetle for the 90's, I came close to buying a 74 super Beetle. It was hunter green, my dream car, until I talked to the owner and found out the gas mileage and how much work has to be done to maintain a Beetle. A mechanic friend of mine said that the Beetle engine is not known for being a reliable engine. They're just real easy to work on and rebuild.

I like my REAL economy car. It's a dark blue, hence the name Blue Streak. My students at school think it's a hoot. They notice things like the little TV I've mounted on the dash (I picked it up a garage sale for 2 bucks).

The local Salvation Army Store had an orginal equipment Delco radio with Geo on it for 5 dollars. The radio with cassette that is in it now is some off brand called Radion. How 'bout it, should I part with 5 bucks to make it more original?

it depends on what kind of job was done when the cheap radio was installed. If they cut up all the wires you'll need to rewire the radio and get connectors to connect the Geo radio. If they did it right and used the right connectors the Geo radio will plug right in. You'll also need 4 screws to hold the radio in place. You can also get for $20-$50 from most junkyards a decent Geo AM-FM cassette radio, but don't hold your breath for the 3-in-1 combo. That has the AM-FM radio, a cassette deck, and a CD player in one unit. I haven't seen one for sale on eBay that went for less than $200 yet, and you don't see them at junkyards, they are rare enough as it is, I'll bet people'd spend thousands on their Metro to keep it running so they can use that awesome all-electric stereo.

Hey it's good to hear from you again, it's been awhile since I've seen you post. Just wanted to get a update on your latest car. I think you had a Cavalier last time and wanted to dump it. Any luck? I know that I've owned a ton of cars but I think you've got me beat by a mile.

Does anyone know how much a salvage title devalues the sale price of a vehicle? As I stated earlier I bought this 1997 Two Door Metro LSi with 37,500 miles for $1500. I appraised it on Edmunds and the trade-in is $3,565 private party sale is $4,103 or Dealer retail is $4,691. I understand these prices are a little inflated because I bought an S-10 in November for $5500 that Edmunds priced out at $6900 dealer retail and was barely able to unload it for $5300. But was just curious if anyone has an idea of how much of a hit a salvage title can take. I have no idea what happened to cause it to have a salvage title. I have check the car over thoroughly and can't see any evidence of a recent paint job. The stickers that are normally under the hood when new are still there and the car is in excellent running condition save for the driver side mirror - broken control arm. Welcome your comments. TowMan.....

My understanding is that a salvage title can reduce the value of a vehicle from anywhere from 10-25%. But I have known plenty of people that have sold salvaged titled vehicles for full retail price. So I would say that you got the deal of the century. Just my 2 cents.

o., so I've fixed brakes maybe 20 times, but when I get to my new baby's brakes, and I'm frozen half way through- if the auto parts store had a manual for my 90 2dr, I would simply follow the instructions...any clues as to where I look?

I just purchased a Geo Metro today. It's a 1997 with 80K for about 2700. It was actually more, but with my trade in actual worth, I figure that was the ending price.

I'd like to get a compression check done soon, but will need to shop around. With that many miles(no history) and such a small engine, it's not a bad idea.

I've noticed websites where you can purchase extended warranty, but cannot claim until after 1-3 months. I am not sure how well they pay out if something major goes wrong... http://warrantybynet.com

They don't require an inspection...

I had an older F150 truck that was sucking money from me at the Gas station. I figured that I would go the extreme side with the best fuel mileage car(minus hybrid). That's how I found these cars and at such a good price. I compared light trucks for the same price, but they were really beat up.

My mom has a 3 cylinder Daihatsu, which is comparitable, but don't have that 'Egg' shape to them.

When I drive down the road, I see all those people in their gas guzzling Trucks and SUV's, etc. Who really needs a vehicle that large anyway? I guess, there are times to tow trailers, etc. But many of them don't even have the need. If I need a truck, I'll just ask a friend or rent one from UHAUL.

Well, I'm crossing my fingers that everything holds up on it. In high school and college, I've had some real lemons, so I know the signs. At any rate, it's a lot better than the truck I just traded-in. I hope they fix that up before they sell it...

the cars only weigh 1800-2000lbs. So 48hp (older models and XFi's) or 55hp (newer models) is plenty to move it with the 5-speed. The 4-cylinder Metros have either 70 or 79hp and that is enough. The 1995 LSi automatic hatchback I had could move just fine. Can your lawnmower keep up with the you-can't-go-too-fast-on-I-635-Dallas traffic?

I don't know, we'll have to race sometime lol!One of the things I've noticed with the 4 cylinders is, the the smaller ones (1.5,1.6) tend to have more little quirks, like loud noise and vibrations and I was wondering about the 3's.

I've always owned cheap little compact cars. couple of years ago I was looking for some parts for my 1988 Chevy Sprint and found 2 other Chevy Sprints exactly like mine in a junk yard. Between the three cars I was able to piece together a very reliable nice-looking little car. I discovered how cheap the engines are to purchase from Japan. You can buy a used engine for the Sprint or metro with 30-50,000 miles for around $500. Then I came across a 1992 Geo metro convertible in my local newspaper and was able to buy if for$300. Of course the engine was blown but the body was in really good shape so I bought a re manufactured engine installed for $1500. I have about$2000 invested in the car and I love it. It runs and looks brand new. Yesterday I was approached buy another metro fan that offered me $3,800 for it. I should sell it and make a profit but I just can't part with it. I was wondering if anyone has any information on the convertibles. Like their history and when they were last made. I don't see many like mine.

I was responding you one of the messages about the Geo Cd/cassette player, They are excellent sound systems I looked for one for my 97 Metro for over a year and then I found one on ebay for 189.00, at first I was thinking i was crazy for paying that much for an oem system but once I installed it I knew that I had made a great deal, they are 650.00 at the Chevrolet dealership.

The Metro Convertible was made from 1990-1993. While the rest of the Metro line-up was being made in Canada the Convertibles were still being imported from japan, Ive heard that in a few years they will be worth a good bit of money thats why I plan to hold onto my 1992 convertible as long as possible.

Ive just joined this message board tonight and I was wondering If maybe someone could help me out with a question? Has anyone else had any head/valve probelems with there Metro's? Ive got two 1990 Metros one four door and the other two doors but both of them lost compression due to valve problems according to my local mechanic, I thought you unusual considering that ive taken such care of the two door and it still died with 101,000 miles, then I bought the four door and after a month the exact same thing happened to it? I thought that maybe since I had both of mine to do this that it was a common problem with these cars? I also have a 1997 Metro LSI coupe which is a great car I would never part with it and I have a 1992 Metro Convertible LSI with 84,000 miles.....I noticed this 1992 Metro has alot of loud tapping, I pray it isnt the valve thing again because I just bought this for 1800.00 and I would hate to see that much money go up in smoke like that, its bad enough I bought the four door for 500.00 and it died right off the bat like that..anyway if anyone knows anything about this problem or a way to prevent it let me know thats.

Unfortunately since a lot of Metro's haven't been properly maintained they have a tendency to burn the valves in cylinder #3 due to people letting the oil levels get too low and under higher rpm's the valves will starve for oil. Also the seal under the intake will sometime develop air leaks. Usually the sign of air leakage is a excessively high idle speed. The result of the air leak is a over lean condition which causes the valve to overheat and burn eventually.

If you do get a burnt valve I would just replace the entire head. There are a few places that will exchange the entire head for only a couple of hundred bucks. I've done it and it's really a pretty easy job. Took me about a hour of actual time under the hood.

You usually don't have to worry about the bottom end on Metro's. You have to remember the 1.0 3cyl and the 1.3 4cyl are the same motor except for the number of cylinders. So the crank bearings on the 1.0 are really oversized for the amount of displacement the engine really has. Of course this is the reason why the engine can go 250K+. Hope this helps.

Hi,I've bought a 1991 Geo Metro 3 cyl 5spd hatchback and it ran great up till around 68,000 miles.After that I noticed a drop in performance. I thought it might have needed a tune up. Until it couldn't pass the smog test.Turned out I had burned an exhaust valve. THAT was expensive! Other than that, they seem to run like a swiss watch. Very reliable.I had the 1991 till it had around 121,000 miles. Never replaced the clutch and only the brake pads once! After hearing GM was going to discontinue selling the Metro, I decided to buy the last year model and trade in my '91.I now own a 2000 Metro LSi w/auto trans, a/c, and EVERY available option that was offered! Even though it cries for a 4th speed overdrive, I can't complain. I love that car. The 4 cyl really adds more power. But you can't knock the great gas mileage of a 3 cyl manual.-Tom